Music recorder and duplicator.



No. 654,473. Patented July 24, I900.

P. J. MEAHL- MUSIC RECORDER AND DUPLICATOR.

(Application filed Oct. 13, 1899.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet THE uunms Pznms coy. vuoYauruo" wuumarou, D. c.

No. 654,473. Patented July 24, I900. P. J. MEAHL.

MESH; RECORDER. AND DUPLIGATOB.

(Application filed Oct. 13, .1899.) (No Model.) 3 $heetsSheet 2.

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No. 654,473. Patented July 24, I900.

P. J. MEAHL.

MUSIC RECORDER AND DUPLICATOR.

(Application filed Oct. 13, 1899.) I M m 3Sheets-8hee1 3,

' llrvrrn STATES PATENT A anion.

PHILIP 'J. MEAIIL, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MUSIC RECORDER AND DUPLIICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 654,473, dated July e4, 1900. I A plication filed October 13, 1899. Serial No. 733,495. (No model.)

To (ZZZ hom it burg/concern.-

Be it known thatL'PHiLIP' J. MEAHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Music Recorders and Duplicators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates tomachines or devices for recording musical compositions, and more particularly to devices for making the perforated music employed in mechanical pianos and organs, pianolas, &c. The perforated music, as it is commonly called, consists of a roll or strip of paper or the like provided with a number of holes or slots which have predetermined relative positions and which may be said to correspond to the notes of ordinary printed music. These rolls of perforated paperare placed within a pianola, mechanical organ, or other similar instrument and are therein unwound by suitable mechanism. As a roll is slowly unwound the holes and slots in the paper cooperate,

with suitable devices in operating the instrument, and the latter of course renders a selection in accordance with the musical com-- positions recorded in perforations through the paper. My invention is designed more particularly for making these rolls of perforated paper, or perforated music, as I shall hereinafter term it, and as the same is commercially well known and has become an article of trade and manufacture a further description of its use, &c., will not be necessary.

Objects of my invention are to provide a simple and an inexpensive device for making perforated music, to provide an improved device which will effectually record the musical compositions played upon apiano or organ, to reduce the cost of production of perforated music, to insure accurate recording, to generally facilitate the manufacture of perforated music, and to provide certain details and features of improvement tending to render a device of this character serviceable and thoroughly reliable.

To the attainment of the foregoing and other useful ends my invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical cross-section of the keyboard and upper portion of a piano and also of my improved music-recorder, the latter being shown as mounted upon the top of the piano and connected with the piano-keys. Fig. 2 ma view illustrating the operation of the-punches and their actuating-levers. Fig. 3 is a front view of the recorder and the adjacent portion of the'piano. Fig. 4 isa section through the recorder on line X X in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the recorder on line Y Y in Fig. 1, showing the piano in plan. Fig. 6 shows a preferred form of spring for the levers A.

As thus illustrated and as a simple way of carrying out myinvention, Iprovide a set or plurality of horizontally-swinging levers A. These levers are preferably pivoted at their forward ends to a fulcrum-rod a, while their rear ends are united or joined by a rod or pivot a. Arranged transversely above the rear ends of the levers is a constantly-rotated shaft B. This rotary shaft is preferably provided with acouple of eccentric cams b, which actuate a couple of vertically-reciprocating pitmen b,having suitable connections at their lower ends with the pivot-rod a. The forward end of each lever is, it will be seen, provided with a transverse slot a and it will also be seen that by reason of the springs a the fulcrum-rod a is normally at the bottom of lower endof said slot. With this arrangement a rotation of the shaft B will cause the set of levers to swing up and down or vibrate about the rod (1 as a fulcrum. Each lever is provided witha punch O, which is pivoted at a point between the levers ends and which is arranged to work or slide up and down in a bar c. The said punches are preferably arranged in a line and have their lower ends adapted to cooperate with the die-holes D, which latter are formed in a sec-0nd bar 0. The paper to be perforated is unwound from a roll or spindle E and rewound upon a sec ond roll or spindle F. In the course of its travel the paper first passes forward and around an idle roll G and then rearward between the punches and die-holes, as shown in Fig. 1. Any suitable means may be employed for rotating the roll or spindle Eas, for instance, by belt connecting it with the shaft Band this connection will of course be preferably such that the paper will move or pass between the punches and dies at the desired rate of speed. In operation the punches are reciprocating constantly, and with the levers in their normal positions the throw of the eccentrics is not sufficient to bring the punches into contact with the paper; but by depressing the forward end of one of the levers A, as shown in Fig. 2, so as to bring the rod a to the upper end of the slot a the punch operated by this particular lever will be lowered bodily to an extent topermit it to reciprocate through the paper and into the die-hole D. In this way the punches serve as recording instrumentalities. The number of the punches is preferably the same or about the same as the number of keys found on an ordinary piano or organ. Each punch therefore represents a note in the chromatic scale, and consequently each time a punch is operated by depressing its lever a certain note is recorded on the paper in the form of a puncture or perforation. Staccato notes and notes of ordinary durations will be represented simply by round holes in the paper. Sustained notes, however, will be represented by slots or oblong openings in the paper, and this is accomplished in the following manner: The arrangement is such that the paper travels comparatively slow, while the punches are reciproeated constantly and quite rapidly, and with this arrangement it will be readily seen that a momentary depression of a lever will permit the punch to pass through the paper but once, while a depression of the lever for a greater period of time will permit the rapidly-reciprocating punch to pass through the moving sheet of paper several times, the successive perforations being so close together that they merge and combine to form a slot or oblong opening. While it is obvious that various devices or means may be employed for depressing the levers A, and thereby actuating the punches, I prefer to connect the said levers with the keys of an ordinary piano or organ. In Fig.1 I have accordingly illustrated the manner in which my invention may be employed in connection with a piano of the upright pattern, the keys of the latter serving as actuating instrumentalities for the punches or recording instrumentalities. In this figure, H represents the casing of the piano. The keyboard is provided with the usual keys I. As a simple and eifective arrangement for connecting the keys with the levers A, I provide a set of levers J, having their outer ends connected with the levers A by means of rods or wires K and their inner ends connected with the inner ends of the keys by means of rods L or the like. With this arrangement it is obvious that a depression of any certain key will induce a punch to enter the paper. A musical composition played upon the piano Will be recorded upon the paper. The arrangement, involving, as it does, a set of actuating instrumentalities having positive or mechanical power-transmitting connections with a set of recording instriunentalities, insures an accurate recording of the musical composition played upon the instrument and renders the device serviceable and thoroughly reliable. As the punches are necessarily arranged or brought within a smaller compass than the keys of the piano, the paper being considerably narrower than the keyboard, the levers J are therefore arranged to radiate backward from the front of the piano, as best illustrated in Fig. 5. It will be seen, however, that other arrangements may be adopted without in any way departing from the spirit of my invention and that my invention may be employed in conjunction with dummy pianos or claveriers, or, in fact, any device or instrument affording a set of manually-operated instrumentalities for actuating the punches. Also after the first piece of per forated music has been produced by mannally operating the keys the same can then be duplicated to any extent by adjusting the said music within a pianola or similar device and attaching the latter to the keyboard of the piano or organ.

IVhat I claim as my invention is 1. A device for recording musical compo sitions comprising a plurality of lovers, punches connected with said levers, dies for said punches, means for effecting a constant vibration of said levers and thereby a constant reciprocation of said punches, a traveling sheet of paper arranged between the punches and dies, and means whereby one or more of said constantly-vibrating levers can be shifted for the purpose of permitting one or more of said constantly reciprocating punches to perforate the paper.

2. The combination of a plurality of horizontally-arranged levers, punches depending from said levers, dies for said punches, a traveling sheet of paper arranged between said punches and dies, means for driving said paper, means for constantly vibrating said levers, and means for depressing the fulcrumed or pivoted ends of said levers for the purpose of causing the punches to perforate the paper.

The combination of a set of piano or similar keys, a plurality of levers, punches connected with said levers, dies for said punches, paper between the punches and dies, means for moving said paper, means for constantly vibrating said levers, the levers and paper being substantially parallel, and means whereby the fulcrumed or pivoted ends of said levers can be adjusted toward the paper by depressing said keys, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination of a set of dies, a stationary bar arranged immediately above said dies, a set of punches arranged to reciprocate through openings in said stationary bar, le- Vers suitably connected with said punches, paper between said dies and punches, means for moving said paper, means for constantly Vibrating said levers, and means whereby one or more of said levers can be depressed for the purpose of causing one or more of said punches to perforate the paper.

5. The combination of a keyboard and a relatively-narrow sheet of paper, a set of punches and coacting dies, means for constantly reciprocating said punches, a set of radiating levers, means for connecting the converging ends of said levers with said punches, and means for connecting the diverging ends of said levers with the keys of said keyboard, substantially as described.

6. In combination with a traveling sheet of paper, a set of punches and dies, a set of levers for reciprocating said punches, means for constantly vibrating said levers for the purpose of constantly reciprocating said punches, and means whereby one or more of said constan tly-reciprocatin g punches can be caused to perforate the paper.

'7. The combination of a set of levers having their free ends connected for simultaneous swing or vibration, punches connected with said levers, dies for said punches, paper between said punches and dies, means for moving the paper forward, a set of piano or organ keys or the like, means for constantly vibrating said levers and thereby constantly reciprocating said punches, the keys and levers being connected in such manner that a depression of one or more of the former will operate to shift the pivoted or f ulcrumed ends of one or more of the latter, for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination of a setof punches and a set of vibratory levers, means for constantly vibrating said levers, means for connecting said levers with said punches, dies adapted to coact with said punches, and means for shifting the points of fulcrumage of said levers substantially as and for. the purpose set forth.

9. The combination of a vibratory lever, a sheet of paper, means for constantly vibrating said lever, a punch reciprocated by said lever, a die for said punch, a piano-key or the like, suitable connection between said key and said lever whereby the depression of the former will change the fulcrumage of the latter to an extent to lower the plane of vibration of said punch, and means for'driving the paper.

10. A device 'for recording musical compositions, comprising a set of constantly-vibrating levers having their ends provided with transverse slots through which extends a rod or wire, a set of reciprocating punches car ried by said levers, coacting dies for said punches, a traveling sheet of paper arranged between said punches and said dies, a set of keys, and suitable connections between said keys and said levers whereby a depression of the former will shift the fulcral points of the latter to an extent to lower the plane of vibration of said punches.

11. The combination of a set of constantly swinging or vibrating levers, recording instrumentalities operated by said levers, a set of actuating instrumentalities, and connections between the latter and the said levers whereby the fulcral points of the same may be shifted to an extent to cause the recording instrumentalities to operate.

12. The combination of a set of levers, fulcrumed at their ends, pitmen for vibrating said levers, a row of punches arranged transversely to the line of feed and having their upper ends pivoted to the said levers, a set of piano or organ keys or the like power-transmitting connections between said keys and said levers wherebya depression of the former will operate to shift the fulcrum-points of the latter, means for driving the paper, and means for reciprocating said pitmen so as to con-' stantly vibrate the said levers. r 13. The combination of a traveling sheet of paper, a set of constantly-reciprocating punches arranged in a row transversely to the line of feed and representing the notes of the chromatic scale, a. set of manuallyoperated actuating instrumentalities corresponding in number to the said punches and having positive or mechanical power-transmitting connections with the latter whereby the plane of vibration of said punches may be collectively or independently lowered for the purpose of permitting them to penetrate the paper, means for driving the paper, and means for vibrating or reciprocating the punches.

14. The combination of a keyboard and a relatively-narrow sheet of paper, means for driving said paper, a set of recording instrumentalities arranged in a row transversely to the line of feed, a set of radiating levers, power-transmitting connections between the converging ends of said levers and said recording instrumentalities and power-transmitting connections between the diverging ends of said levers and the keys of said. keyboard.

PHILIP J. MEAHL. Witnesses:

ARTHUR F. DURAND, M. MOO. SMITH. 

